St. Mike's featured in Princeton Review's "The Best 377 Colleges", 2013 edition

Saint Michael's College is one of the country's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the school in the new 2013 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 377 Colleges, Princeton Review, 2013.

Only about 15% of America's 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which includes detailed pictures of the colleges based on The Princeton Review's surveys of students attending the colleges.

"We commend Saint Michael's College for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criteria for our selection of schools for the book," said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Senior VP / Publisher and author of The Best 377 Colleges. "Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 30-member National College Counselor Advisory Board. We also work to keep a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character." The full list of colleges can be viewed here.

"We're very pleased to be endorsed by the Princeton Review," said Saint Michael's President John J. Neuhauser. "Saint Michael's provides a strong liberal arts curriculum with opportunities in the classroom, and out, for research with professors, engagement with service activities, and a range of options to hike and ski the mountains of Vermont, to enjoy the urban excitement of Burlington, and much more. So we are delighted that more people will become aware of us," he said, "thanks to our inclusion in the Best 377 Colleges guide."

Saint Michael's profile

In its profile on Saint Michael's College, the Princeton Review praises the school, saying "Though undergrads at St. Mike's take their academics seriously, they also love to take advantage of life beyond the library." The book quotes extensively from SMC students surveyed for the book. Among the student comments are these: "Tucked away in 'the heart of Vermont ski country,' Saint Michael's College offers a 'close-knit and familial atmosphere' where everyone 'will always value and support you.' 'Small classes' help to ensure that 'you are not just another number in a lecture hall.' Indeed, the college 'really wants to help its students realize their full potential.'

SMC students said further, "Classes are often 'discussion-based' and 'require a conscientious student who will actively participate in discussion.' And the book says, "Moreover, undergrads here speak effusively about their professors. As one English and theater double-major shares, 'the professors strongly encourage you to visit them during office hours and are always working hard to engage students and keep them interested in learning. It is clear that the majority of the professors at St. Mike's care about what they are teaching and seem genuinely interested in the subject matter.' A history major succinctly adds, 'Whether you like it or not, your professor will know your name'."

Surveys of 122,000 students

The Princeton Review reports are entirely based on The Princeton Review's survey of 122,000 students (about 324 per campus on average) attending the colleges in the book. The 80-question survey asks students to rate their own schools on several topics from assessments of their professors to opinions about their financial aid and campus food.

Various categories are provided in the book with rankings. Saint Michael's College is number 8 nationally on the Best Town-Gown Relations list in The Best 377 Colleges.

In a "Survey Says" sidebar in the book's profile on Saint Michael's, The Princeton Review lists topics that SMC students surveyed for the book were in most agreement about. The list includes: "students are happy," "students are involved in community service," "student publications are popular," and more.

Saint Michael's is a selective Catholic college of approximately 2,000 students studying the liberal arts and sciences on a scenic 440-acre campus just outside of Burlington, Vermont.
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About Saint Michael's College

Saint Michael's College delivers a compelling, world-class education in a beautiful Vermont setting. Our connected community allows students to form close relationships with each other and accomplished faculty members, providing an ideal learning environment where they have the space and support to challenge themselves and their peers. As a fully residential college located minutes from Burlington, one of the country's top-rated college towns, Saint Michael's offers an unparalleled mix of academic, spiritual, cultural, service and wilderness experiences.